The Grand Mario And Sonic Crossover 2 On Hiatus
by Turrican23X
Summary: Real life ended this one early. Sorry.
1. The Torus and the Disc

**Chapter 1: The Torus and the Disc**

The Mushroom Kingdom was currently enjoying another period of peace and prosperity. Not that any of the kingdom's subjects were harbouring any delusions that the Koopas wouldn't make yet another invasion attempt once they'd recovered from the one Mario & Luigi thwarted last month. For now, at least, happy times reigned.

Wary of having their princess kidnapped for the twenty-eight...no, twenty-ninth time, the leading member of the famous plumbers was accompanying her on her trip to the country's borders. As part of the post-war efforts a team of skilled Toad carpenters were in the process of converting Bowser's crashed flagship Doomship into something a little more benevolent. If the effort proved successful, then the Mushroom Kingdom would gain the mightiest non-Koopa airship in the world, which would make scouting for future signs of imminent invasion much easier. Just once it would be nice if Bowser's army DIDN'T gain a huge foothold in the kingdom before being beaten back by the moustached heroes. By the time the Mushroom People finished demolishing the Koopa fortresses, ghost-busting the haunted mansions, restoring the trap-filled roads to normal, and replacing the flags on every single flagpole in the country...yet another legion of Koopas were ready to pour across the border. Sure, employment rates had never been higher, but if things went on like this the Mushroom Kingdom would be bankrupt in half a decade.

Being the supreme ruler of one of the leading countries in the world meant more than looking pretty in pink and being tossed back and forth between reptilian and Italian suitors. Mario had only been following Princess Peach for a week now, and so far the experience had been dull, dull, DULL! So many ambassadors to chatter with, so many regional rulers to reassure, so many speeches to give, and the paperwork! Mamma mia, the paperwork! He'd thought playing the personal bodyguard for a while would be a vacation after fighting through Bowser's army for the umpteenth time, but instead he found himself longing for the simple challenge of bouncing across a lava field pursued by half a dozen Paratroopas. Thank goodness for this trip to the Ex-Doomship construction site. If only Toadsworth had stayed behind, and by association - the dreaded paperwork.

Dozing off in his seat at the back of the pink royal airplane carrying the Princess and her escorts to the outer edge of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario overheard a few snatches of conversation.

"...and sign here to authorize the reconstruction of the Mushroom Highway. Good. And here, let me see, yes, the Pipers League needs her majesty's permission to treat the North Donutville pipelines with fire flowers to deal with the extensive Piranha Plant infestations. Good, and your signature on this page as well. Thank you, Princess. Now, on to other business. Let's see. Ah, yes, the regent of Sand World sent yet another unfriendly proclamation regarding your stance on accepting Koopa defectors. Shall I send the standard letter back? Respecting his views but having to consider what's best for the country and so on...?"

The Princess's reply was drowned out by the snore coming from the row of seats behind her. Toadsworth frowned indignantly, but Peach merely giggled. She was well aware of how far from reality her frequent-rescuer's idea of her job was. She'd once tried to explain how badly the work piled up every time she was abducted from her post, but it was obvious that all of it was as alien as the back of the moon to Mario (or maybe not - hadn't he been there twice already?). Letting him see first-hand how much she actually did for the kingdom might inspire a little more respect.

"Never mind him," she said. "Continue."

The elderly Toad harrumphed, adjusted his glasses, and reached for the next document in the very large pile. Before he could grab the paper, however, the plane suddenly shook violently, throwing him off balance and scattering papers all over the interior of the aircraft. Mario got a rude awakening as he hit the ceiling nose-first, then a slightly more pleasant one as he fell back into his seat and the princess fell on top of him.

"Ai ai! What's happening?" Mario asked, raising his head over the seats.

Mario looked out the windows, but couldn't see anything but grey fog. Then Toadsworth fell on top of him.

Although the most disoriented of the trio, Toadsworth got his bearings first.

"Master Mario! You'll find proper supplies and an exit in the back room that way," he exclaimed, pointing his stick in the wrong direction. "Get to the bottom of this calamity before it endangers the Princess!"

Not a stranger to bizarre exceptions to the rules of gravity, Mario bounced up and ran along the floor, walls, ceiling and floor again as the plane performed a sickening spin in mid-air. He managed to get through the door not quite successfully indicated by the elderly attendant. True enough, it was stacked with 'proper supplies'. Floating question mark boxes, happily staying rigid and safe in the air relative to the unpredictable floor, were there.

Given a choice between a beaver tail, a yellow cape, a winged cap, and a bizarre bee costume, Mario went for the less showy choice and donned a Wing Cap before opening the airlock.

"Wee-hee-hee!" the plumber shouted, as he leapt to the skies. Or rather, leapt into grey featureless oblivion.

It turned out to be an unnecessary trip, as the plane cleared the turbulence field even before Mario managed to fly to the edge of the strange cloud. He did, however, get the best view of the phenomena...

It was a...a ring? A halo? A hoop? A loop? A giant donut cloud. Yes, that was it. A big grey donut shape. The violent disturbances on the plane must've been caused by the way the steamy substance revolved in on itself at such an unnatural speed. Occasionally the outer rim of it lit golden as yellow lightning flashed inside the giant donut. Giant golden white-glazed donut with sparkly sprinkles...

The discovery would likely have been more dramatic if Mario hadn't skipped lunch before witnessing the Torus.

"Mamma mia, what-"

"-is that?"

The Tornado 2 circled around the giant flat circle of energized air again. The curious boy genius hadn't taken long to make up his mind about going to take a look at the strange signal himself. None of his advanced radar systems had been able to get a proper scan of the phenomena since it appeared. Even seeing it with his own eyes didn't help.

Far beneath the Disc the sea roared and crashed against itself. The calm waters for miles around somehow sparked massive waves from the moment they reached the shadow of the anomaly.

When technology failed, the fox pilot knew of only one place to turn.

"I'd better find Sonic," Tails said to himself.

Mario caught up with the royal plane a few minutes later, just as his power-up was starting to fail. Even if his grasp of the English language was far superior, he wouldn't have been able to explain what he'd seen or why it seemed so familiar to him. Well, apart from reminding him of a baked treat, of course.

"I'll summon additional escorts from the castle," Toadsworth suggested. "This strange sign could be indicative of another nefarious scheme from Bowser."

"So soon?" said Peach.

"I trust you'll stay on your toes, Mario. It is imperative that the construction of the airship Vigilance is completed without delay. It is the key to ensuring the long-lasting safety of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Issa no problem," Mario responded reassuringly, ignoring the foreboding he felt.

_End of Chapter 1_


	2. Sonic the Drifter

**Chapter 2: Sonic the Drifter**

Shooting across vast terrain at near the speed of sound, leaping across canyons, and spinning downhill with the force of a cannonball - braving exciting dangers all across the land, and laughing in the face of certain death. These were the activities you'd normally expect to find Sonic the Hedgehog engaged in at any given point in time. You certainly wouldn't expect to see him walking along a dirt road in the middle of nowhere at a lazy pace, wearing a backpack of all things, and chewing on a piece of straw.

But that was the case.

Here under the open sky, with Mr Sun scorching everything below, the supersonic hedgehog was taking a break. It was true that he was normally happiest when he was speeding across the world faster than any other living creature, but sometimes even he had to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Once it occurred to Sonic that his travels had taken him just about everywhere in the world far more quickly than he would've liked, he made a conscious decision to lower the pace every few hundred miles, just so he could take in what was so easily missed when moving past at six hundred miles per hour. Because Sonic always enjoyed finding new places to explore, he'd hate to wind up having nowhere new left to visit by the time he turned twenty.

It was over a month now since the last time Eggman attempted a world domination scheme. With the help of Tails and Knuckles, Sonic had destroyed the evil doctor's Egg Tankard battleship and vanquished the elemental monstrosity that inevitably double-crossed Eggman and tried to destroy the world. You'd really think the doc would learn to leave ancient evils alone by now, wouldn't you? As soon as Tails declared that the threat was put to rest and that Eggman wouldn't be able to do any harm for a while, Sonic took off by himself as he usually did at the end of each grand adventure. He was a drifter at heart, and his friends wouldn't try to change that.

Even the idea of being stranded with a permanently fixed home made Sonic feel claustrophobic. Whether he decided to or not, he needed the certainty of being able to take off at any time he wanted in order to feel secure. That might be the main reason why he shunned Amy's advances, but Sonic wasn't given to that much introspection.

One might wonder what the hedgehog who normally wore no more than the shoes on his feet and the gloves on his hands needed a backpack for. Well, the answer was simpler than you'd think. Food. The owner of the farm Sonic had passed a couple of miles back had insisted on rewarding him for saving her from the freak twister that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Sonic had tried to explain that the thrill of getting to steer a whirlwind away by running through its heart was enough of a reward, but she wouldn't listen.

Sonic reached back and pulled out an apple. He ate it. Then he kept on walking for another hour.

"Okay, that's long enough," Sonic said to himself.

In a split-second the wandering hedgehog became a trail of dust speeding towards the distance. A few hours of this "walking" thing was all he could take, because to someone who'd spent his entire life racing at fantastic speed, seeing the horizon stay still even as he was moving forward was, simply put; creepy.

He passed through a town somewhere ahead, crossing both edges of the community in just under a minute. An elderly bum sleeping in an alleyway woke to find a backpack stuffed full of fruits and delicious cooking lying at his feet. Any drivers who failed to blink at just the right time got to see a blue blur fly past at odd angles, taking care not to disturb the traffic. Only at the pay booth at the checkpoint on the far edge of the city limits did the speedster stop for a second.

"Whu-wha?" the guy at the toll booth looked up further as something suddenly appeared on the roof of the car whose driver was still fumbling with their coin purse.

"Which way to Eastopolis?" Sonic asked, tapping his foot on the roof of the car.

"Dri-Ru-Ah... You go five miles down the road, then follow Highway 74 all the way. Hey, aren't you the famous-"

"Oh yeah," said Sonic, theatrically patting where his pockets would be if he had any. "I'm a little short right now. Hedgehogs travel free, right?"

"I...suppose. Wait, could I get your autogra-"

But Sonic was already a speck on the horizon. For much the same reason why he ran from Amy Rose on sight, he couldn't stand to deal with fans. Even though he was dimly aware that by now an autograph from the world-famous hero Sonic the Hedgehog would be worth a fortune, and even though he was normally happy to help people out, he didn't dare try to encourage any of his misguided worshippers. Especially not since that horrible confrontation with that annoying kid who called himself "Sonic Man" back in Soleanna. Sonic had only stayed on the island long enough to watch the rare Festival of the Sun ceremony, but if he hadn't run into that freakishly overzealous fan the very next day, he might've stuck around another week.

-

Stealth is the way of the ninja... Moving silently, invisibly, tracking the target and preparing for the perfect time to strike...

"Gotcha!"

Espio jumped from the ceiling and caught Charmy around the waist, bringing the panicky bee down to the floor of the messy detective agency office. A badly-stung Vector appeared from behind the tilted desk, holding a big bottle of pills in one hand and a lone capsule in the other.

"No! I don't wanna! Letmegoletmegoletmego!!" Charmy yelled, struggling harder to escape the chameleon's grip.

"This is for your own good," Espio insisted. "If your inability to stay calm for five minutes blows one more stake-out, we'll never make rent in time."

"I don't need it! I can be calm! Lemmegooo!!"

Vector closed in for the delivery.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?"

All three members of the Chaotix turned their heads towards the door. Charmy saw his chance to sting Espio in the belly and make his escape. Which he did.

"Of course not, sir," said Vector, stepping in front of the writhing chameleon. "The Chaotix detective agency is always available to paying clients."

"I'm glad," said the strange-looking skunk. "I certainly endevour to fill that role. My name is Xeronexus, and I require your services in obtaining certain...items for me. Shall we discuss your fee right away?"

Vector threw all suspicions aside at that point. This client had the right kind of attitude. So what if the whites and blacks of his fur were disturbingly reversed and his pupils were blood-red?

-

_End of Chapter 2._


	3. The Mad Skunk

**Chapter 3: The Mad Skunk**

There was silence in the Chaotix's office as the leader of the trio struggled with a difficult decision. Finally, with a sad expression, he declined.

"Why not?" asked the skunk with the funny name.

"Weeell, even though what you offered to pay us was really, really generous," Vector began, recalling the number again with agony.

"The Chaos Emeralds are far too dangerous to be entrusted to just anyone," Espio cut in.

"And you look just like a bad guy!" Charmy concluded with far less tact than his comrades.

Xeronexus laughed. Espio raised an eye brow, while both Vector and Charmy let their mouths drop. Even when laughing with obvious feeling, the skunk didn't change his expression one bit. It was really disturbing to watch. If he didn't need air to pass through his vocal chords, then the skunk probably wouldn't even have bothered to open his mouth.

"You misunderstand me, fellow anthropomorphic animals and insect," said the skunk with what he thought was charm. Ignoring the trio's reaction to his unusual choice of words, Xeronexus continued "I merely wish to study these shards of crystallised deus ex machina. I would never dream of using their power for the sake of my own self."

"Not buying it, miser mime!" Charmy sang.

"Mime? We're talking to him right now," said Espio.

"You know, he's like those people in white and black who do stuff like this."

The bee made a poor impression of a person trapped in an invisible box.

"Oh, you mean a pantomime," said Vector. "Now that you mention it, he does remind me of something like that with that creepy not-quite-there look on his face."

The skunk sighed, again with a face as immobile as a puppet's. "I was wrong to make my choice of agents based on reputation alone. I'm going to assume from your wanton lack of respect that you're already acquainted with the likes of the hedgehog named Sonic...the Hedgehog."

"Sure!" said Charmy. "He even helped us out a little that time we save the world from that giant data-sucking robot dragon monster!"

"Yeah, did we ever get paid for that?" Vector asked.

"No," said the chameleon, still keeping his eye on the skunk.

"I find you lack of seriousness disturbing," said Xeronexus, possibly starting to lose patience, but how cold you tell?

"Ooh! Ooh! Just like in that movie, Star W-" Charmy started, only now noticing how impressively similar the skunk's voice was to a certain character from that certain movie.

"ENOUGH!" Xeronexus shouted. "I did not come here to gab with clowns! Even without your willing aid, I can still make one of you useful to me. Chameleon, your powers of invisibility far outweigh the crocodile's brute strength and the bee's...utter uselessness."

"Hey!" went the bee.

"Forget it," said Espio simply.

"I didn't intend to give you a choice," said Xeronexus as his eyes started to burn. "Let me show you something...What? Why are you disturbing me?"

The skunk's eyes dimmed, and suddenly he was facing away from the Chaotix and talking to a wall.

"Leave me be. I need to meditate," Xeronexus told the wall. "Can't it wait? Very well. Tell his majesty I will join him in a moment... I said I'll come. These-these arts could have disastrous results if left unfinished. It won't take long. Just let me have some privacy."

Vector, Espio and Charmy looked at each other, then back at the raving madman.

"I must go," the skunk told them after a brief silence.

"Goodbye."

"See ya."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"

Once the Chaotix were alone again, they spent the next minute scratching their heads and looking awkward before finally remembering what they were doing before the lunatic interrupted them.

"Grab him!" Espio and Vector both shouted, leaping at the bee, who flew up at the last second, causing the chameleon and the crocodile to slam their heads together.

-

_End of Chapter 3._


	4. And the Lakitu

**Chapter 4: And the Lakitu**

Lit with a hellish light by the rivers of molten lava surrounding it, Bowser's castle was as intimidating as ever. Its black spires drew everlasting bursts of lightning from the dark skies above, while burning monstrosities rose and sank again in the lava moat below. Here, at the very heart of the country named Bowserland by its egotistical ruler, an evil scheme was nearing fruition...

You'd think Kamek the Magikoopa, adjutant and chief underling of King Bowser, would be happier about the wicked state affairs. Instead, he was seething with jealous hatred.

"Who does he think he is?" the robed koopa muttered to himself as he paced through the chilly corridors of the castle. "Nobody pushes me out of the way, nobody! Just because that guy knows some tricks, he thinks he can-"

And so on. The strange Lakitu that had quite literally blown into town right after the most recent failed invasion had worked his way from immediate execution for trespassing in the castle, to being Bowser's most trusted advisor. As far as Kamek was concerned, all the usurper had done was make a slightly more efficient warp pipe. Those wretched rings of his. How did that Lakitu learn to master teleportation magic more powerful than any Magikoopa in Bowser's army could manage? Kamek knew that if only he could figure out the Lakitu's secret, he could prove how worthless he was to Bowser and get rid of that pest once and for all! Just look at what he'd been reduced to: Playing messenger boy, a job fit for a Goomba!

Kamek knew exactly where to find the Lakitu, mainly because Bowser had given him Kamek's room! The excuse was that there were only twelve master bedrooms in the castle, and although there was a spare one left even after accounting for the king, Kammy the Witch, and the eight Koopalings, that particular room was on permanent reserve for Princess Peach. No comment there.

The Magikoopa paused outside the large wooden door, thought about knocking, and then decided to just barge right in. After all, by rights it was HIS room! The Lakitu was sitting on his personal cloud in the middle of the room, apparently asleep. Kamek looked at the twisted Koopa-creature with contempt. Black scales, a white shell, and a cloud with malevolent red eyes. He, _it_, was a freak.

"Hey wake up, Zero Neck Crust!" Kamek shouted. "His Majesty wants to talk to you."

The Lakitu stirred, but didn't open his eyes. The creepy cloud beneath him blinked twice, however.

"What? Why are you disturbing me?" the Lakitu asked, sounding disoriented.

"Bowser wants to discuss how many Koopa Troopas we can send into Princess Peach's castle using those rings of yours. You'd better not keep him waiting. He's not a very patient ruler, and I'd _hate_ to see you get roasted for being late."

"Leave me be. I need to meditate," Xeronexus told the Magikoopa.

"Are you kidding? You don't leave the Koopa King waiting, you fool."

"Can't it wait?"

"No!"

"Very well. Tell his majesty I will join him in a moment..."

"Are you deaf, slow or stupid, Lakitu?" Kamek burst out, losing what little remained of his temper.

"I said I'll come. These-these arts could have disastrous results if left unfinished. It won't take long. Just let me have some privacy."

"Arts? Phah! Fine. I'll tell Bowser you're making him wait. Why should I care? You'll be the one to suffer for it."

Kamek slammed the door after him harder than necessary. Why should he care? He should care because Bowser's lack of patience meant he was more likely to take his frustrations out on the messenger than wait for the perpetrator himself to arrive. Oh well... At least this horrible situation should only be temporary. Once Mario threw a wrench into the gears it would be easy to arrange matters so that Zero the Lakitu would find himself between the plumber and his prize, making the creepy puff-rider's demise a certainty. If that didn't work, then...well. Magic could be a dangerous thing when handled carelessly. If Mario couldn't finish off the Lakitu, then Kamek would take care of him himself while Mario kept Bowser busy. Who could possibly keep track of casualties when the likes of Mario were wreaking havoc?

The Magikoopa allowed himself a quick nefarious laugh, but made sure to stop before getting within earshot of his boss.

-

Xeronexus the skunk ran as fast as he was able to through the deep alleyways of the inner city. If Kamek wasn't exagerrating, he needed a safe place to store this vulnerable animaloid body while he focused his full attention on the Lakitu. It was only thanks to a fluke that these tiny fragments of his essence had managed to survive and find hosts to embody. If one of those bodies should die, he would lose the weak grip on reality he still had left.

From his perspective it had been centuries since Mario and Sonic destroyed Zero-Nexus and set him free. Finding a foothold in the infinite sea of time and space had taken so long. On the other hand, only a few weeks had passed since he tasted the air of both worlds for the first time. It was like waking from a nightmare into a perfect heaven. But the fear remained. All this could still be taken away. Mortality was too fleeting, too...fragile.

This was his second chance. He would never get another.

-

_End of Chapter 4._


	5. Into the World Between

**Chapter 5: Into the World Between**

"It's no use, Princess, we can't see to find him anywhere," Toadsworth finally announced.

The disappearance hadn't been noticed until after the royal plane touched down at the makeshift air strip at the edge of the construction site. Since then Princess Peach had refused to leave the area until her attendants searched every nook and cranny of the ship. Mario himself had squeezed through the engine compartments and luggage holds but achieved nothing but a face full of oil and grit. Toad seemed to have disappeared completely. The identity was another problem entirely. The boy had one of the most common names used by the species of Mushroom People commonly called as a whole by the very same name. Even the usual identifiers didn't help, as this one was one of three Toads in the royal party; all wearing blue vests, white pants, and a white mushroom crown with red polka dots. Even Mario, who could normally tell the Toads apart, had to take Peach's word for it that the Toad in question was their dear old friend who'd accompanied them on so many adventures in the past.

Mario rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Always the man of few words, he didn't have many to offer now. The only possibility was that Toad had somehow slipped out of the plane immediately after they landed. But how was that possible? It was flat grey terrain for miles around - he'd be easily spotted. In fact, the nature of this place was the very reason why Bowser's Doomship had remained in such remarkably good condition after it crash-landed here. If the ship had fallen anywhere else it would probably have been impossible to restore it. Mario could see the scaffolding surrounding the gigantic airship from here, and the army of Toad carpenters running around it like an ant farm.

"No, we have to find him!" Peach persisted.

"And we will," Toadsworth responded reassuringly, "but for now we must consider out itinerary."

"But-"

"I will attend to this mystery myself. Master Mario, if you could escort the Princess during the inspection of the Vigilance."

"Issa no problem," said Mario.

"Good. I knew I could count on you. I'll devote all my resources to discovering what happened to our dear friend. Of course, if this is a kidnapping, then we all know what manner of villain would be responsible. We may need your help yet, Mario, but right now the Princess must be our top priority."

"What about us?" one of the attendants asked.

"You'll stay here to help me search," Toadsworth answered. "As long as Mario is with her, I'm sure her highness will be safe."

And that was that. Peach reluctantly conceded that Toadsworth was right, so she and her knight in shining overalls headed along the path towards the massive airship. Once the pair were out of earshot, the Toad elder had only one question to ask the remaining attendants:

"Did any of you see Toad after the ship went through the donut-shaped cloud?"

-

"Did you try to fly through it?" Sonic asked right away.

"What? No, of course not. Who knows what could happen?" Tails responded, alarmed at the reckless idea.

Tails had caught up with Sonic about halfway to Eastopolis. The blue blur had been happy to listen to Tails's discovery, remembering fondly that the last time they encountered a mysterious weather anomaly they wound up finding a whole new dimension to explore and eventually save from disaster.

"Gotta be worth a shot, though, right?" Sonic argued, carefree as ever.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you could come along and sort of feel it out... You'd be able to tell if the anomaly has anything to do with the Chaos Emeralds, wouldn't you?"

"I guess. That sounds more like something Shadow would be up for," said Sonic, shrugging.

"Yeah...well..." Tails looked awkward.

"Don't sweat it, pal," said Sonic, jumping up on top of the Tornado's wings in one leap.

-

Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life-Form, guardian of the Ark, once-harbinger of doom...

...will not be appearing in this story.

-

Toad opened his eyes, or tried to. Some unpleasant slimy stuff was all over his face, stinging in his eyes and every orifice. All he could make out was glimpses. Some kind of forest, wrapped in yellow gloom. He tried to speak, and immediately started to choke as the horrible substance entered his throat.

The Mushroom Person staggered forward, causing gurgling noises around his feet with every movement.

Then, just as he thought he was about to drown in whatever was coated to his whole body, Toad managed to force an eye open and saw something terrifying standing right in front of him. The disgusting yellow smile monster lunged right at him, and then-

"_Bloooorghaaaah!!_"

-

_End of Chapter 5._


	6. The Goomba, the Pipe and the Echidna

**Chapter 6: The Goomba, the Pipe and the Echidna**

The Tornado 2 flew in wide circles around the Disc. The sun was setting, yet even in the twilight the anomaly seemed to glow with a light of its own. Tails let the plane fly on auto-pilot while he consulted the onboard computer. As the fox had pointed out when he and Sonic returned to the location, the appearance of the Disc had changed substantially since the first time he saw it. The inner portion of the flat disc shape had turned almost black while still remaining barely transparent. The outer edge, meanwhile, had turned dark green and now appeared to be completely solid. A dud missile fired from the overclocked plane quickly proved that the green ring remained as insubstantial as fog, however.

"It's definitely weird," was Sonic's expert opinion.

He was still standing on the wings of the plane, keeping himself stationary in winds that would've thrown anyone else off easily. Sonic didn't seem to notice. His whole body was practically built for conditions like these.

Tails didn't respond right away. He was looking at the data returned by the sensor-rigged dud missile. He looked doubtful.

"We can definitely rule out trying to fly through that thing," Tails eventually concluded. "There's a big chunk of the bogey's interior missing, like it was just pulled out of existence. Who knows what'd happen if a living person went through?"

"I hear ya, pal. Killer body cavities, right?"

"Something like that. I wish I had some way to properly analyse this data. These readings don't make any sense."

"How so?" Sonic asked, and then quickly added "Er, go easy on the techno-babble, Tails."

"You know about the periodic table, right?" Tails asked after a moment's consideration as to how best dumb down the problem.

"I know what it _is_, sure."

"Well, that's the problem. I did a basic chemical analysis, and according to what it says here that thing is composed of at least three elements that shouldn't exist. I mean, it would be possible to sustain them under laboratory conditions, but in an exposed environment, those elements shouldn't be able to avoid breaking down for even a fraction of a second. There's no way the basic hydrogen and oxygen molecules could be prevented from-"

"Starting to lose the audience, Tails," Sonic warned.

"Um...what I mean is that this anomaly is...well, it's impossible. According to the laws of physics, it can't exist."

"Huh. Kind of like the Chaos Emeralds?"

Tails shook his head. "There's nothing supernatural about the Emeralds. They function exactly according to the rules of Advanced Chaos Theory, the way Stephen Hawk described them over a decade ago."

"Stephen Hawk...is he that bird in the wheelchair with the funny robot voice?" Sonic asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, Sonic," Tails answered, clearly annoyed that one of the greatest geniuses alive was more commonly remembered for his condition than for his achievements in science.

"Anyway," said Sonic, sensing his best friend's annoyance and quickly opting to change the subject, "what should we do about this impossible anomaly thing?"

"I don't know. I'd like to get back to my workshop where I can study this data more efficiently, but what if something bad happens here while we're gone?"

"We can keep watch anyway, can't we? Got any of those nifty surveillance probes onboard?"

It was hard to see from the perspective of the two airborne animaloids, but the Disc was growing in substance even as they spoke. If Tails had a way to keep his data updating in real-time, he'd be alarmed to see how fast the numbers were rising.

-

The Goomba emerged from the warp pipe and landed in the middle of a grassy hillside painted a beautiful orange by the light of the setting sun. It wasn't in a mood to appreciate the aesthetics. Goombas were grumpy by nature, and this one had been having a really rotten couple of weeks.

First it almost got flattened by Mario, then it fell over the railing of Bower's Doomship, barely surviving by landing in a nest of Yoshis. Then, of course, it got chased across three sub-worlds by ravenous infant dinos, almost drowned twice, and actually did get swallowed by a giant puffer fish. Fortunately, the fish didn't like the taste of Goomba, and promptly spat the little brown mushroom-creature back out at the shore. As if all that wasn't enough, the Goomba then almost got flattened by Luigi and fell over a railing, AGAIN, this time plummeting off a cliff and landing in a shrubbery filled with Piranha Plants. Those voracious plants would've eaten anything, but the Goomba made a million-to-one chance escape by slipping down the nearest warp pipe. As its luck would have it, the Goomba's escape passage lead straight into the heart of Giant Spike World. That was no walk in the park. Finally, after countless further perils, the Goomba had emerged here in this scenic area.

Its only thought was "Okay, what's next?"

A life-threatening horror failed to emerge. The Goomba waited a bit longer, but the situation didn't change.

Could it finally be over? Had the Goomba at last found a place where it could wander aimlessly back and forth in peace?

"Hyiaaa!!"

A red-furred monster burst out from behind a bunch or rocks and came charging at the Goomba. It didn't have time to react before a spiked fist sent it flying, finally flattening the Koopa minion against the very surface of the warp pipe it'd emerged from. The status quo of the Goomba species wasn't about to change yet. It was still their lot in life to live slow and die flat. Shame none of them survived long enough to consider that perhaps it was a bad idea to betray the Mushroom Kingdom and side with ever-failing invader Bowser.

All of the above was lost on Knuckles the Echidna. All he knew was that an intruder had arrived on Angel Island and wandered far too close to the area where the Shrine of the Master Emerald stood. Satisfied with a job well done, the echidna cracked his knuckles and focused on the next mystery.

"Who the heck stuck this green tube here?"

Knuckles tried looking down the pipe to see if he could spot the perpetrators. The interior of the pipe was as black and featureless as it looked from the outside.

"Hey! Who's down there!?" Knuckles shouted.

There wasn't even an echo. Feeling as disgruntled as he looked, Knuckles picked up a small rock and let it drop down the hole. He listened for the sound of the rock hitting the floor for about a minute. Then, in true Knuckles fashion, he lost his patience and simply ripped the green tube out of the ground. With dirt stuck to the underside of the pipe raining around him, the echidna got a good look at the spot where it'd been.

"What the-" he uttered in surprise.

The grass was flattened and dirty, but still fully intact. There was no sign at all that anyone had dug even an inch into the ground underneath the green pipe. Feeling confused, Knuckles dropped the pipe down on its side and peered inside. He was still looking into a seemingly-infinite black abyss. For the next experiment, he went over to the nearest tree and broke off a long branch. Then, just to be sure, he measured the stick against the side of the pipe to make sure it was longer than the length of the pipe. When he stuck the branch into the pipe with its end sticking out, he got his suspicions confirmed. Nothing stuck out the other side. He pulled the stick out. It wasn't broken or anything.

Knuckles was gullible, yes, but he wasn't dumb. This was obviously some kind of super-advanced technological device utilising holographic displays and-and, well, um, high-tech gizmos. Definitely a trap left by that nefarious mastermind Dr. Eggman. Huh. The doctor was doing to be disappointed, because Knuckles wasn't stupid enough to stick his head inside like this and-

_CHOMP!_

"Ow!!"

A Piranha Plant bit onto the echidna's nose and pulled him into the warp pipe in one swift movement.

-

"Sonic, did you see that?" Tails exclaimed, pointing.

"Yeah, it just happened again. The whole circle started flashing for a second. I wonder what that means..."

-  
_  
End of Chapter 6._


	7. Threads of Time

**Chapter 7: Threads of Time**

Kamek the Magikoopa, commanding general of the Koopa army and caretaker to the young Prince Bowser, was in a joyous mood. He practically skipped as he headed through the chilly Koopa royal castle on his way back to his personal chambers.

The plan had gone down almost perfectly. It had taken ridiculous amounts of magical power to accurately predict the future, and to actually perceive a way to change the unfortunate destiny - but Kamek had done it. Now all he needed to do was intercept the stork and kidnap those twin boys. If the prophecy was true, then the foreseen "doom" would never befall the Koopa species, and their destiny as rulers of the world would be assured.

The bespectacled Magikoopa happened to look out of a window as he passed. It was an unusually clear night. The storms that constantly raged around the Valley of Bowserella (the late Koopa queen) were strangely calm tonight. If he squinted, he could see as far as the Golden Ring cloud that marked the border between here and the Mushroom Kingdom. Hmm. Funny, how rarely you stopped to look at something that'd always been there. Did the Golden Ring look brighter than normal? No, it must be the weak storm giving off that effect.

Kamek shrugged and went ahead, happily oblivious to an immediate future filled with frustrating defeat at the hands of a clan of adorable stretchy-tongued dinosaurs.

-

Silver the Hedgehog materialized in the middle of a barren stretch of sun-toasted desert. The white hedgehog looked around with a confused expression, then this his attention to the high-tech device worn around his right wrist.

"I can't believe this," he said to himself. "What a dumb rookie mistake."

He'd chased the nefarious scientist Eggman Nega across times on numerous occasions. That he still hadn't learned to program the time warp generator correctly on the first try was just plain embarrassing. Yes, he'd fed in all the right data, but, AGAIN, he'd completely forgotten to factor in the displacement effect of the Green Abyss phenomenon.

Silver paused, erased some numbers on the tiny display screen, and started over. Come on, he told himself. He had to have done this dozens of times. That giant time-space distortion field off the coast of the United Federation had been there forever. Why didn't the user manuals for these time machines just change the values to match the effect of the Green Abyss instead of forcing the time travellers to manually re-configure with every single time jump?

After finally confirming that he'd programmed his route correctly, Silver the Hedgehog took one last look around, then disappeared from that point in time.

-

Princess Peach couldn't take her mind off the recent disappearance. Even as she and Mario approached the site of the unfinished Airship Vigilance, she questioned it.

"Why didn't the pilot plot a course AROUND the Golden Ring instead of going straight through it?" she asked rhetorically.

Mario blinked.

"What is a-you saying?" he asked.

"The Golden Ring cloud. It's always been a source of mysterious events. I can't believe we just flew straight through it."

Mario blinked again. Golden ring? Did she mean the donut cloud? Five minutes ago they were discussing the nature of that unprecedented phenomenomenomenon... Wait, was that right? Phenome-no-me- Nevermind. Five minutes ago they were wondering what it was all about, and now suddenly the Princess was sounding like it was something they should all know about already?

"This a-very strange thing happening," the famous plumber said to himself.

"What did you say, Mario?"

"Issa nothing. Look, we're a-here!"

The pair started the long climb up the wooden stairs built into the scaffolding surrounding the gigantic airship.

-

"Tails?"

"What is it, Sonic?"

"Why are we flying back the way we came now?"

"Huh?"

From Sonic's perspective, the last few minutes had revolved around trying to figure out the nature of the giant green and black circle in the sky. Then, just as they'd been about to head back to land, the translucent disc had flashed twice and suddenly grown far more tangible as they watched. Then, within seconds, Tails turned the Tornado 2 around and started flying away just as things were getting interesting.

"C'mon, pal. Things were just getting interesting," Sonic said aloud, voicing his thoughts eloquently.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" said Tails, sounding genuinely bewildered. "It's dangerous to fly this close to the Green Abyss, especially for you."

"What?" went Sonic.

"You can't swim, remember?"

"Oh."

The hedgehog had been expecting a slightly more ominous reason than the one that was plain as day. He had perfect balance, so as long as he had something to stand on, he rarely worried about what was beneath. The fact that the plane was flying out over the ocean hadn't been a very pressing thought until now.

"Wait a second," said Sonic, scratching his head. "Did you just say 'Green Abyss' with audible capital letters?"

"Yeah. Why? That's what it's called, isn't it? That's what all the books call it."

"Books? Tails, are you feeling alright?"

"I think so."

Sonic crossed his arms over his chest, and looked down at the pilot. "Tails," he said, "do you remember why we flew out here in the first place?"

"Um..."

"Well?"

"I-I'm not sure. Why did we? It's dangerous to be this close to the Green Abyss!"

"So you said. But a minute before that you knew as little about that weird thing as I do. What the heck is going on, Tails?"

A comment like that was enough to get the fox to take his eyes off the controls for a moment. Sonic didn't like the look his sidekick was giving him.

"Sonic..." Tails began, speaking as if to a child "the Green Abyss has always been here. It's as old as the world."

Sonic blinked.

"There's something very strange happening," he said to himself.

-

Xeronexus smiled, though neither one of his bodies reflected that. The worlds were destabilising even faster than he had anticipated...

-

_End of Chapter 7._


End file.
